The Importance of Organizing Systems

The Importance of Organizing Systems (latest Article for neighborhood Newsletter) 

            The busier and more hectic our lives become, the more disorganized we seem to be.  We all strive to be organized, but getting organized is not something that happens overnight.

            Getting organized is not a perfect science, but it does take a little thought and time to set up “organizing systems” that work for your family. If you spend the time to become organized, you want to have these systems in place to keep things organized or you have wasted your time. Take the time to think about your daily lives and where the problem areas arise. Then, create systems to help these areas or times of your day run more smoothly. The systems that are put in place must make sense to you and your family. Once you have systems in place, explain them to the other members of your family. If a system doesn't work at first, change it until it does. Remember when creating these systems that everyone will not view being organized the same way.

            One of the most important systems to have in place is a calendar or schedule. Time management and being organized go hand in hand. Some people prefer to keep a paper or dry erase calendar in a central location while others use their phone as their primary calendar.   Whatever your style, it is very important that everyone in the home has the same information and that all information is added to the calendar. If you have older children and you keep the calendar on your phone, sync everyone’s calendars so everyone has the same information and dates are not overscheduled or double booked. After all, we can’t be in two places at once. 

By having a calendar already in place, you can also save yourself time as the month goes by.  For example, if you see that you are going to attend two birthday parties and a wedding in the same month as well as provide snacks on the first Monday for your child’s ball team you can go ahead and purchase cards, gifts and other items in advance. This will prevent the running around at the last minute and overspending as well as the added stress.

Schedules can also be a tool to help keep you on track on a daily and monthly basis.  Make a list of your household chores and create a weekly schedule for getting these accomplished. Wash laundry on Monday and Wednesday for example or clean the living room on Tuesday. By keeping a weekly and monthly cleaning schedule, you free your time up later with deep cleaning. You also feel you have accomplished something at the end of the day when you can mark off what you have done. Monthly schedules can include the deep cleaning tasks along with tasks such as changing the air conditioner filter or changing batteries in the smoke detectors. You can also include other household maintenance on this schedule such as sharpening the lawn mower blade and having the air conditioner inspected. This will not only save time, but could save on costly repair bills later on down the road.

Meal plans are also a type of schedule. Plan meals by the week, make grocery lists to match and clip coupons. Not only will this save you time and money, it may also help you stay healthy. Include several crock pot meals, casseroles or have breakfast for dinner. If planning meals by the week stresses you out, go online and search for meal plans that are already created for you. There are sites such as E-Meals that will email you menus and grocery lists for the week. With these prepared meal plans, you can also focus on your style of eating such as Low Carb or Natural and Organic. When you plan a meal that is a hit with everyone in the family, double the recipe and freeze part for a meal later on when time is a factor. By planning meals and eating as a family, the family can spend more time together as well.

Having schedules and calendars is a great way to begin your overall home organization, but what about the items we already have that cause clutter? One of the biggest creators of clutter in the home is bringing items into the home that we do not need to keep. We often bring goody bags in from parties and events, we bring swag from business meetings, and our kids bring flyers and art in from school. Our mailboxes are often filled with junk mail.  Having a system in place for these types of clutter is a must and having a specific time of week to siphon through it is also a must.

Mail:  If it is junk mail, separate it and toss it as soon as you walk into the house.  The other important mail such as bills and items you need to respond to should go in a place where they will not get lost in the shuffle – especially if they need to be taken care of later. The entryway or command center for the home is a perfect place to have a divided holder for the mail with labels such as Bills, Respond, File, and/or Shred.  You could also have a section for school mail and coupons.  Coupons for eating out or shopping (Grocery coupons are separate) could then be placed in a large Ziploc bag in the car where they will be available when needed. That way, you can check this bag depending on where you go and it will keep you from letting coupons expire.  

Goody Bags and Party Favors:  Save these items and box them up for your child’s teacher to use in their classroom treasure chest.  When attending events, don’t feel obligated to accept or take every flyer that is offered. If you do attend an event where you are handed a goody bag of papers and items, go through it as soon as you bring it into the house. Toss what you will not use and place the other items where they are needed. We all could use the extra pens and drink Koozies, but other items are not something we should clutter our home with.

Magazines: Read the magazines you know have articles of interest and recycle the others. You could also donate them to a doctor’s office waiting room. By cancelling magazine subscriptions of magazines you never read or no longer have an interest in, you can also save money.

The above are just a few suggestions of systems to set up that will benefit most people. Whatever systems you decide to put in place in your home, remember to work with the other members of your family. Discuss what works and change systems as the need arises. Everyone in the home should have a part in keeping the house running smoothly. By maintaining these systems and by cleaning clutter a little each day, you will soon have a more organized home that is running more smoothly.

Latest Home Organization Project- Walk In Storage Closet

Recently, through an online website for organizers called www.findmyorganizer.com, I was contacted by a couple to help them get organized. They were accustomed to living alone in their home until unforeseen circumstances caused them to have a few more people living with them for a period of time.

We all know what the addition of children can bring to a home when it comes to organization!! If systems are not set in place, there is no more organization. Even when systems are in place, sometimes we just become so busy with caring for the family that organization is the last thing on our minds and is always a thing we will eventually tackle from the bottom of our TO DO list.

What is important to realize is that being organized first can make taking care of the family a little easier, can save us time and can cause less anxiety for ourselves and the rest of the family.

Project Goal: Organize a large walk in storage closet so the husband of the home could claim the space again as rightfully his

The Space: Located in the back hallway, this closet included two parts. Clothing bars and built-in drawers and shelving in the front and a small laundry room with a built-in cabinet and counter top in the back. The back space is not being used as a laundry room so the space was re-purposed as extra storage.

The Process: Clear the clutter (including kids' toys) so the homeowner could use the space for a closet; put items in a better space if not stored in the closet; organize all of the homeowner's seasonal items and gift giving supplies in the back space of the closet

As you can see from the BEFORE photo above, the closet was a space for whatever didn't have a space in another area of the home. My goal was to make the space usable again. The best thing about this project were the built-ins. It isn't often that people have systems like this at their disposal. This made my job a little easier! Who wouldn't want a space like this in their home?

BEFORE 

BEFORE

Step 1: Clear the closet one space at a time

I tackled this project with time in mind. I wanted to finish in 3-4 hours since that was the time the homeowners had available.  I began in the back room and worked my way forward. My main tools included trash bags, a step stool, and two Tupperware bins. 

My goal in the beginning was not to find a place for items but to get rid of the items that would not be in the space when I was finished. But, as I worked, I kept thinking of placement for the items when the clutter was cleared- the end result was already in my mind. 

Step 2: Put items back in place

Before the project was started, a discussion with the homeowner was had to determine the use for the space. The lady of the house wanted her gift giving supplies such as tissue paper and gift bags along with her goody bag supplies (for charity work) stored here. She also needed to store additional presents bought throughout the year for Christmas stockings and grandchildren stored here. By the end of the process, we decided that seasonal table decor could also be stored here. 

The man of the house was not concerned with this back space as long as he had his closet back for his clothes and would no longer need to share a closet with his wife. 

Step 3: The Final Product 

This space is a work in progress. When I return to the home to organize the laundry room and kitchen, this space will have more in it like the seasonal items. But, for now, the space is ready to be filled. 

The Built Ins ready to be filled 

This cabinet was used for seasonal presents such as Valentine's Gifts, Gifts for Wedding Showers, etc. 

Gifts for Christmas and Grandkids

Gift Bags for Christmas (TOP) and Birthday (BOTTOM)

Gifts for Valentine's Day (TOP) and General Use (BOTTOM) 

 

Tissue Paper for Christmas (LEFT) and Tissue Paper for other presents (RIGHT) 

As I worked, the Homeowners assisted by going through very small piles of paperwork or items that I would find. They were looking at items to see if they could be tossed, moved to a better location or given away. This was a huge help to me because it made the job go faster.

In the end, I labeled sticky notes with what was in each space and gave the homeowners a "Tour." They were very pleased with the end results and the man of the house was very excited that he would not have anyone else's things in his closet.

The homeowner's also commented that they didn't know how it got to be this way. "Easy," I said, "Life got busy and this was the easiest spot to put things that didn't have a home."

Lesson from this organization project- If an item doesn't have a home, it becomes unwanted clutter.

When organizing a large space or even a small space such as this, you need to begin with the end in mind and assign categories to piles of items as you go through them.

Toss
Donate
Keep
Put in a better place

The first three are self explanatory, but the fourth is one people do not think about very often. Begin organized is a great way to save time, but items need to be organized where they are needed. For example, this homeowner loves to decorate for each season with table clothes and other items. These items are perfect to be stored in this back closet. So, the next time I visit the client's home to help organize her kitchen, I will take the seasonal items from her kitchen and place them in this storage closet. That will help free up much needed space in her kitchen!!

A SPECIAL NOTE:
Laying bags flat in a cabinet is not the ideal storage solution for gift bags, but we wanted to use what the homeowners already had in place. The largest gift bag was used to hold all of the smaller ones and was laid down so the homeowner could pull the bags out when she needed them.

Stay tuned for my next post on solutions for storing gift wrap and gift bags.

Where do I put that? (Latest Fieldstone article)

Where do I put that?

Is your house overflowing with items that do not have a home? Are you feeling the need to move just to have more storage for all of your things? You are not alone. But, there is hope to transform your current space into a space that works better for you.

The first rule of organizing is to PURGE everything you do not need or haven’t used in a while. But, after you purge, what do you do with the items you have left? Everything does need a place to live, but are there rules on where items in your home should be stored?

The answer is yes, sort of. There is no perfect place to store everything. Where you store items in your home depends on how you live and what you have to store. It also depends on the layout of your home and where the storage areas are located. One general rule to remember is that items you do not use very often need to be stored in harder to reach places and items you need on a daily basis need to be stored where you can access them easily.

We won’t spend much time in this article talking about what to store in the common areas of your home. Everyone knows what needs to be stored in the main rooms such as the kitchen and living area. But, what should you store in those other areas such as the laundry room, linen closet and attic?

Laundry Room:

No laundry room is the same. Some come with lots of space and a desk and some are large enough only for the washer and dryer. Whatever the size, it is often overlooked as a storage space. The following is a list of other items you may want to store here in addition to detergents.

• Ironing Board on a convenient hanging system- hang on the wall in a stud if the weight is too much for the door or the door will not close due to the hanger
• Cleaning supplies contained in an easy to carry bin with a handle
• Additional supplies- toilet paper, sponges and cleaning rags
•  Dog supplies- towels, shampoo and clippers
•  Shoe polish kit
•  Tool box for often needed tools- tape measure, screwdriver and hammer
•  Clothing toolkit- scissors for cutting tags or stray strings, buttons, needle and thread
• A summer kit- bug spray, sunscreen and beach towels

In the laundry room, remember to utilize the space you have. Add shelving if there is room. Add baskets or hooks to the wall for hanging items. Add a frame with a cheat sheet on removing stains (Martha Stewart has a great one on her site). And, don’t forget to also add a small trashcan for the tags and lint from the dryer and a jar or bowl to collect all of the change (or other items) you might find. If you are feeling really energized, you could also paint the walls in a bright color and add a trendy rug.

Linen Closet:

Most of us have at least a small linen closet in our hallway. If you do, it doesn’t have to just hold linens. The linen closet can be utilized in a much better way. It is fine, of course, to keep some of these items in your linen closet, but save space for other items as well. Many towels and washrags can be stored in the bathrooms in baskets under the sink or even in baskets hung on the wall. And, many sheet sets can be stored in your bedroom closet or in an extra drawer or chest. Larger comforters and blankets can be stored under the bed in containers that keep dust off of them.

So, what else can you store in your linen closet you ask? Many of the items are what you could also store in your laundry room, but here are a few others:

•       Medication- you want to store medication in a cool, dry place away from humidity and on a higher shelf away from children
•      First Aid Kit- Band-Aids, rubbing alcohol, Neosporin and other items that would be in a normal First Aid Kit (you could also add a thermometer here)
•      Additional toiletries- soaps, shampoos, razors (this is important if you shop at Costco or other big box stores)
•      Guest Amenities Kit- additional shampoo, toothbrushes, soaps for guests
•      Batteries- for toys or smoke detectors
•     Light bulbs
•   Beach Towels and pool items (these can also be stored in an area of the garage)
•    Board Games for kids
•    Inflatable mattress and sleeping bags (I store these on the very top shelf where other items would be difficult to reach)
•     Inclement Weather Kit- flashlight with batteries (take batteries out when not in use), candles, matches, battery operated radio, battery operated lantern
•     Travel Kit- airline approved containers for bathroom items, dirty linen bag, Dopp Kit

To make storage in your linen closet a premium, utilize the space you have by using stackable containers or baskets, label bins you cannot see through and hang a rack on the door for additional storage. You could hang your ironing board here as well.

Attic:

The attic is a space where heat, insects (Silverfish), and pests can be a problem. If your attic is not a room in the home and is not very well ventilated and insulated, you should think twice about using it for extra storage. The list of what not to store in the attic is much longer than the one on what you can store there.

What not to store in the attic: books, pictures, memorabilia, Christmas lights, candles, glass or plastic ornaments, electronic equipment or cords, car seats or items for kids with safety buckles or harnesses, plastic items or items with elastic such as reusable diapers swimsuits and bottles, lighting.

The following are a few items you can safely store in your attic: (this list also is heavily dependent on how you store these items and how long and how hot it gets in your attic during the summer months- Georgia gets pretty warm). Moisture can also be a problem.

• Empty suitcases
•  Seasonal Items
• Seasonal or outgrown clothes
• Some toys
• Some baby items not needed until the next child
•   Packaging for purchases you made recently that require original packaging for returns (keep packaging only until you know you will be keeping the item)

When it comes to storing items in the attic, think twice. Some items might need to be stored in the garage attic space as opposed to the house attic space if it is better insulated. Whatever you decide to store in the attic, it needs to be inspected routinely and not left in the attic for years. If it stays on the attic for a long period of time, it may ruin no matter how you have it packaged- even clothes.

Using many times overlooked storage areas in your home can help alleviate the stress you may feel from not having enough storage space. Remember that purging is the first step in organizing, but really putting thought into storing what is left is a good idea. Just because the room is called the laundry room doesn’t mean it can’t be used for other items.

Happy Organzing!! I would love to hear from you. Email me with your unique storage solutions!

annabcheung@gmail.com